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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Vent Column: Nissan JUNK

It just came to my attention (Thanks J&P Cycles) that Nissan released a new commercial for their car, the Juke. The ad is infuriating to me as a motorcyclist. I want you to watch the video first, and then continue reading.

First off all, as a motorcyclist, I am intimately aware of the dangers around me, it's part of the territory. I went through safety course training to make sure that I got the correct education before ever hitting the road on 2 wheels. Safety is the #1 concern of all motorcyclists, or at least it should be. This ad touches more than one nerve.

For one, depicting motorcyclists as predators, or bad guys, is ridiculous. Sure, the biker images comes with some negative connotation from time to time, but most of the time that we're on the road we're a hell of a lot more vulnerable than people surrounded by walls and airbags. When was the last time you saw a biker run into an SUV and do thousands in damage and still walk, or better yet, RIDE away from the scene? Never! It'll never happen! The predators on the road are the drunk drivers, those applying makeup while driving, texting, calling, playing games... hell, I've seen people reading the fucking newspaper while they drive. No joke, they put it on the steering wheel and read as they drive... but motorcycles are the enemy... we're the outlaw bastards that should be put in our place. At least that's apparently how Nissan sees us.

That's just the beginning, then they go on to call motorcycles "trophies" and "prey" - Really? Is that what we are to you, and if not, where do you get the balls to make such statements? Glorifying motorcycle accidents to push your piece of junk car? That's balls... that's HUGE BALLS... I don't even know how the marketing guys at Nissan can walk without tripping over their massive nut sacks.

That car shouldn't be called the Juke, it should be called "Junk" because that's what it is, that's what this ad is, and that's what Nissan as a company is for allowing something like this to be created to represent them and their product. I will never buy a vehicle from them, and I'm sure my family and biker friends will agree.

Oh, and on top of it all, May is motorcycle awareness month, so how do you like them apples?